Natural stone is used both structurally and as cladding: wall blocks, façade slabs, steps, paving units and fill material. Its properties vary considerably from one quarry to another, which makes qualifying the source the first step of any project that uses it.
Testing determines the dimensions and density of the material, water absorption and natural moisture content — both linked to frost resistance — together with compressive and flexural strength, the mechanical parameters needed for design and for selecting slab thickness.
Sampling is carried out at the quarry face or from the delivered consignment, in slab, cubic or block form.
The natural stone tests below are those our laboratory is accredited for under ISO/IEC 17025, certificate LT 069:
- Dimensions of natural stone in slab, cubic or block form — 0.1÷500 mm — BS EN 772-15:2011
- Gross, net and apparent density — 500÷3200 kg/m³ — BS EN 1936:2006; BS EN 772-4:1998; ASTM D6473-15
- Water absorption at atmospheric pressure — 0.1÷10 % — BS EN 13755:2008
- Natural moisture content — 0.1÷10 % — ASTM D2216-19
- Compressive strength — 1÷88 MPa — BS EN 1926:2006; ASTM D5873-2014; ASTM D6032/D6032M-17
- Flexural strength — 0.05÷15 MPa — BS EN 12372:2022; BS EN 13161:2008
Please contact us for further details
Accreditation
Independently verified competence
Our laboratory is accredited by the General Directorate of Accreditation (DPA) of the Republic of Albania to S SH ISO/IEC 17025:2017, “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”.
ISO/IEC170252017
Testing Laboratory
Registration number LT 069. Granted 08.06.2025 and valid until 07.06.2029. The certificate is issued together with its accredited scope.
View certificate (PDF)
ISO/IEC170252017
Calibration Laboratory
Registration number LK 005. Granted 06.08.2025 and valid until 05.08.2029. The certificate is issued together with its accredited scope.
View certificate (PDF)
DPA is a signatory of the EA MLA and the ILAC MRA for testing.
